She’s a breath of fresh air in the industry, all kindness, colour and clashing prints. The founder of website Cool Pretty Cool, Chloe Hill spends her time styling, photographing and keeping every finger on the pulse of fashion.
She’s on the run here, globe-trotting for Fashion Week, but lets us inside her hotel room in Paris for a glimpse into her beauty and health routine.
What is your morning beauty routine?
Every day I massage The Ordinary Squalane cleanser into my face before I jump in the shower, then rinse it off. Once or twice a week I exfoliate with Aesop’s Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste which further clears my skin and pores.
After the shower I use a Niacinamide serum or spray, like Woods Copenhagen’s lifting mist. I’ve had on and off issues with breakouts my whole adult life and I find Niacinamide helps keep my pores clear.
Then I apply a face oil (Dermalogica’s Barrier Defense booster) if I’m somewhere cold, or a lotion (Woods Copenhagen Daily Mineral gel) if it’s summer. Once that’s all soaked in I cover my face with Mecca’s To Save Face SPF50+ superscreen, the most important step! Then I apply Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue tinted moisturiser from Mecca, which on an average day is all I need for a little coverage and glowy skin. My final secret is Chanel’s Palette Essentielle which is a concealer, highlighter and colour all in one. It’s really all I need day or night to finish my natural look.
What is your night beauty routine?
Again, I massage The Ordinary Squalane cleanser into dry skin, at night I often spend up to ten minutes massaging as it helps the cleanser get deeper and encourages blood flow. If I’ve been wearing makeup or am in a city with bad air quality I double cleanse. Then, since right now I’m being super fancy, I’m using Augustinus Bader’s The Cream which is based in his research accelerating burn healing and leaves my skin so smooth.
After that is well and truly absorbed, if I need even more hydration, I use a vitamin serum face oil like Biossance’s Squalane + Vitamin C Rose oil. I also love to use this before applying makeup if I want a dewy look. Right now if I’m putting in extra effort I use Dermalogica’s Age Reversal Eye Complex and Bite Beauty’s Agave Lip mask from Sephora.
"I occasionally do HIIT or yoga and I try to walk as much as possible, especially when I’m working overseas and can’t make reformer classes."
What are the supermarket / drug store / chemist beauty product(s) that you use and love?
Lavender essential oil - a drop on my wrist keeps me calm. And organic soap bars, they’re so easy to travel with and way better for the environment. Ethique from NZ and The Australian Natural Soap Company are both great and have options for hair and more too.
What are your favourite products to you use on your body?
I swear by body oil almost all year round, except when it gets really humid in Sydney and I have to swap to a lighter lotion. I often buy oils from the food section at the supermarket, hemp seed oil or sweet almond are wonderful and so much cheaper than buying from the beauty section. I sometimes add a few drops of lavender oil to give it a nice scent.
How do you keep fit / healthy? Does exercise form a large part of your routine?
I do reformer Pilates almost every day when I can, I find it works best for my body, it calms me and gives me so much strength. Being tall, I need something that doesn’t impact my joints and assists with building muscle where I need it (around my knees and my core).
What cosmetic procedures / professional treatments to you incorporate into your beauty routine?
I’m really so slack, I do almost everything myself! I prefer to paint my own nails. I’ve only had my eyebrows done professionally once in my life and I travel with hair scissors so I can give my hair a trim if I need. But when time allows and I’m back in Sydney I always visit Paloma at Paloma Salon, she’s one of the only people I’ve gone to who actually knows how to cut curls. Apart from that I’m totally DIY (and beyond clueless when it comes to cosmetic procedures to be honest).
What do you do when your body needs to recover?
Rest, hydrate and eat delicious wholesome food. Because I travel so much, I’m really good at identifying when I need downtime and implementing it right away. There’s never any benefit to running yourself dry.
You’re tired / hungover / rundown: what's your beauty hack?
An acid exfoliant, like Aesop’s Purifying Facial Exfoliant paste, and Susanne Kaufmann’s Glow mask. I don’t even know what’s in it, but it actually makes my skin glow.
What is the one non-negotiable in your beauty routine?
SPF. I’ve been devoted to Mecca’s To Save Face SPF50+ superscreen for so long. There’s a body version but I prefer to use the original face version all over my neck and arms too.
Do you have a beauty icon? Who are they and why?
Andie MacDowell has a magical quality to her beauty. Of course she’s very symmetrical and has amazing features but I think it’s her smile that really inspires me. And I love that she has almost always worn her hair naturally, often embracing a little frizz. Her sweet Instagram captions about her daughters are so precious too, I think inner beauty always shines through in the end.
What is the best advice on beauty you’ve received?
My Mum when she told me a hundred times, wear SPF.
What is the best advice on health you’ve received?
Listen to your body.
What is the one product you can’t live without?
Soap bars. Can more beauty products be plastic free please.
